Warren’s Aidan Lucero (9) hands off the ball to Maurice Edwards (6) against Maine South. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
Another wild shakeup after a week of crazy results.
Before sitting down and getting into all the usual rankings research I had a feeling that Lincoln-Way East, Naperville Central and Glenbard West were all likely to drop out this week. But they didn’t. All three hung on.
All three traditional powers lost to unranked teams this week. Here’s why they stayed in the Super 25.
Lincoln-Way East: The loss to Sandburg, which entered the game just 1-4, was definitely the worst of the upsets. But the Griffins resume is still better than plenty of ranked teams. They beat Crete-Monee (a regular contender to break into the rankings this season) 35-20 in Week 1. Lincoln-Way East also has a 21-13 road win against No. 18 Bolingbrook.
Naperville Central: It’s been one heck of a schedule. The 3-3 record isn’t pretty but the Redhawks have beaten No. 20 Hinsdale Central and Lincoln-Way East. They lost in overtime on the road at No. 4 Neuqua Valley. Losing at home to rival Naperville North, which is also just 3-3, looks bad. But I don’t like penalizing teams for playing tough schedules. The Redhawks resume is just stronger than the unranked 6-0 and 5-1 teams that could have replaced them.
Glenbard West: The Hilltoppers were dumped in the first draft. They don’t have the strong resumes of Lincoln-Way East and Naperville Central. But there weren’t enough teams sitting outside the Super 25 that were convincing, so Glenbard West stuck at the bottom. One hiccup is definitely allowed this season and York is undefeated.
Week 7’s Super 25
With record and last week’s ranking
1. Loyola (6-0) 1
Saturday vs. Providence
2. Brother Rice (5-1) 2
Friday vs. No. 3 Joliet Catholic
3. Joliet Catholic (6-0) 3
Friday at No. 2 Brother Rice
4. Neuqua Valley (6-0) 4
Friday at Waubonsie Valley
5. Cary-Grove (6-0) 8
Friday vs. Jacobs
6. Maine South (5-1) 9
Friday at Niles West
7. Warren (5-1) 10
Friday at Mundelein
8. Batavia (6-0) 11
Friday at Geneva
9. Wheaton North (5-1) 12
Friday at Wheaton Warrenville South
10. St. Ignatius (6-0) 13
Friday vs. St. Viator
11. Mount Carmel (4-2) 14
Friday at St. Laurence
12. Marist (4-2) 15
Friday vs. Montini
13. St. Rita (4-2) 16
Friday at Marian Central
14. Hersey (6-0) 17
Friday at Wheeling
15. Lockport (6-0) 15
Friday at No. 18 Bolingbrook
16. Naperville Central (3-3) 6
Friday vs. DeKalb
17. Lincoln-Way East (4-2) 7
Friday vs. Homewood-Flossmoor
18. Bolingbrook (5-1) 19
Friday vs. No. 15 Lockport
19. Lemont (6-0) 21
Friday at Tinley Park
20. Hinsdale Central (5-1) 22
Friday at No. 22 York
21. South Elgin (6-0) 25
Friday vs. Elgin
22. York (6-0) NR
Friday vs. No. 20 Hinsdale Central
23. Glenbard North (4-2) 24
Friday vs. Lake Park
24. Fenwick (4-2) NR
Friday vs. St. Patrick
25. Glenbard West (5-1) 5
Friday at Downers Grove North